NEW YORK - — NEW YORK - -Bernard Madoff was sentenced Monday to the maximum 150 years in prison for his multibillion-dollar fraud scheme, which a federal judge called "staggering."
"The message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were evil," said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin in handing down what in essence was a life term for the 71-year-old investor.
Chin, noting that the Ponzi scheme ran for more than 20 years, wasn't convinced that Madoff was sorry or was cooperative with authorities in the continuing investigation into others who helped him bilk funds.
"I simply do not get the sense that Mr. Madoff has done all that he could or told all that he knows," the judge said.
Defense attorneys had sought 12 years, while prosecutors wanted the maximum. The federal probation department had recommended 50 years. Madoff, a former Nasdaq chairman, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and other charges in March and has been jailed since.
Before the sentence was handed down, Madoff addressed the courtroom and apologized to his family and to his victims, saying he "will live with this pain, this torment, for the rest of my life."
His wife, Ruth, did not appear at the sentencing but issued a statement afterward saying that she was "embarrassed and ashamed" by her husband's actions and that it ruined the lives of so many people, including "close friends and family."
One of them, Patricia Silver, who emerged from the courtroom looking weary, said she and her family were friends of Madoff for 40 years.
"The betrayal and the damage this caused us is irreparable," she said.
She said she was glad that Madoff turned and looked at the victims when he spoke and apologized, and she called the sentence "fair."
Madoff, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, sat and listened as emotional witnesses described how he spoiled their security, and they urged Chin to send him to prison for life. Victims who lost millions of dollars described their ruined lives to the judge.
The judge noted that not one of the more than 100 letters he received supported Madoff or described any good deeds he had done.
"The absence of such support is telling," Chin said.
Miriam Siegman of New York, a victim allowed to make a statement in court, said she could not bear to stay throughout Madoff's lawyers' statements. She walked out when Madoff's attorneys spoke.
